Legendary actor, Fred MacMurray, was born Fredrick Martin MacMurray on Aug 30, 1908 in Kankakee, IL. MacMurray died at the age of 83 on Nov 5, 1991 in Santa Monica, CA and was laid to rest in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, Los Angeles County, CA.

Early Life

Frederick Martin MacMurray was born on August 30th,
1908 in Kankakee, Illinois to Maleta and Frederick MacMurray and had ties to
the entertainment industry thanks to his actress aunt, Fay Holderness, who
worked in vaudeville. Before MacMurray was out of diapers, he and his family
packed up and moved to Madison Wisconsin, before finally selling in the small
town of Beaver Dam when MacMurray was five years old. In Beaver Dam MacMurray
lived a simple, small-town American life. In high school the young Frederick
grew to be over six foot tall, becoming a prominent athlete in the sports of
football, baseball, and basketball.

After graduating high school, MacMurray received a full
scholarship to Carroll College, where he switched gears from sports to music.
He soon joined a myriad of local bands, playing the violin, baritone horn and
specializing in the saxophone. He would eventually drop out of college to pursue
his dreams in show business.

Early Career

After eschewing school for more a more practical education
in the realm of show business, MacMurray spend his next few years traveling
between New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. In 1930 he got a gig as the saxophonist in the Gus Arnheim
and his Coconut Grove Orchestra and later that year was featured as the lead
vocalist on tune "All I Want Is Just One Girl." Although music was MacMurray's
main pursuit, he soon began dabbling in the world of comedy and acting. Soon
after recording with Arnheim, MacMurray made his Broadway debut in the Max Gordon
musical revue Three's a Crowd, a hit
play that would run for over 270 performances. In 1933 he would go on to share
the Broadway stage with Sydney Greenstreet and Bob Hope in Roberta. The next year MacMurray was noticed by Hollywood, signing a
seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures in 1934.

In 1935 MacMurray made his Paramount debut with a supporting
role in the John S. Robertson romance Grand
Old Girl. MacMurray would spend the rest of the decade working on his
craft, appearing in over 20 films in the span of five years. Although much of
his early work is fairly forgettable fare, he did manage to snag a few choice
roles along the way. In 1935 he starred opposite Claudette Colbert in the
romantic comedy The Gilded Lily. The
pair would eventually appear in six more films together. Later that year he
starred opposite Katharine Hepburn as the affluent object of titular
character's affections in Alice Adams. The
next year he appeared with Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney in the ambitious Henry
Hathaway Technicolor romance The Trail of
the Lonesome Pine. He then starred opposite Carole Lombard in the comedy True Confessions. In 1936 MacMurray
married his longtime love, Lillian Lamont, whom he would remain married to
until her death in 1953.

Filmic Success

By the time the 1940s rolled around, MacMurray had gained a
reputation as solid actor with a great work ethic. Thanks to his small town
upbringing, he often cast as the upstanding, decent and quietly thoughtful
character, no matter what genre he appeared in. In 1940 he once again worked
with comedy director Wesley Ruggles, starring opposite Jean Arthur and Melvyn
Douglas in Too Many Husbands. The
next year flexed his acting chops in the Michael Curtiz action flick Dive Bomber opposite Errol Flynn. By
1943 MacMurray was not a thoroughly respected actor but also became one of highest
paid actors in the world with a salary of 420,000. He purchased land in
Northern California and created MacMurray ranch. In his off time from acting,
he would spend much of his time there, raising award winning Aberdeen Angus
cattle.

In 1944 MacMurray was given the chance to play something
outside his normal "nice guy" range with the Billy Wilder film-noir classic Double Indemnity. In the film he played
Walter Neff, a seemingly perfectly average insurance salesman who works with
Barbara Stanwyck to plot the murder of her husband and collect the insurance
money. The film was great success at the box office and with the critics
gaining seven Academy Awards nominations.
Double Indemnity also proved
to Hollywood there was more to MacMurray than just "Mr. Nice Guy." Despite
this, MacMurray remained typecast with films like Suddenly It's Spring, On Our Merry Way and A Millionaire for Christy.

Decline and
Revitalization

By the 1950's MacMurray's acting career began to decline.
Although he still received steady work, he was given mostly subpar roles in films
like 1950's Borderline, 1951's A Millionaire for Christy and 1953's The Moonlighter. In 1954, however, he
did manage to score a meaty role in the Edward Dmytryk's big screen adaption of
The Caine Mutiny. In the film
MacMurray played the role of the cynical and two-faced Lieutenant Thomas Keefer.
He followed that another great performance in hard-hitting film-noir Pushover. His subsequent films, however, failed to match the success of
The Caine Mutiny and Pushover and by the late 1950's
MacMurray was staring in most non-descript westerns. During this time he also
began dabbling in the new medium of television, which would later prove to be
his bread and butter.

In 1960's MacMurray's career was given a second wind that
started in 1959 when he was cast as the lead in Walt Disney's first live-action
comedy The Shaggy Dog. The film was a
financial success and put MacMurray back on the map. The next year he re-teamed
with Billy Wilder, once again playing against type as Jeff Sheldrake, a morally
bankrupt, corporate executive who has no problem's cheating on his wife then
casting his broken-hearted mistress (Shirley MacLaine), even after learning
about her suicide attempt in The
Apartment. Although the role proved to be his last of any great substance,
MacMurray would still continue on with a successful career.

Later Career and Life

Following The
Apartment, MacMurray returned to his good-guy persona as Professor Ned
Brainard in The Absent Minded Professor.
Also, that year, he was cast as the loving but stern patriarch, Steven Douglas,
in the television series My Three Sons. The
series would prove a long lasting hit, playing on the air from 1960-1972.
Initially, during the series off time, MacMurray other acting gigs in films
like Bon Voyage! And Son of Flubber, However, by the end of
1960's he simplified his life by sticking to just My Three Sons. After the show ended in 1972 he took on a few role
such as the TV movies The Chadwick Family
and Beyond the Bermuda Triangle,
but announced his retirement in the 1978. His final big screen appearance was
as Mayor Clarence in the Irwin Allen disaster film The Swarm.

After leaving the movie business he lived a quiet life in
Santa Monica. He suffered from throat cancer in the late 1970's, but managed to
quell it to remission. In 1987 he became the first person ever to receive the
Disney Legends award. Later that year his cancer would reemerge, this time with
severely more crippling effects. On November 5th, 1991, Fred
MacMurray died of Pneumonia. He was 83 years old.

(Source: article by Minoo Allen for Classic Movie Hub).

HONORS and AWARDS:

.

He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures. On October 13, 1987, MacMurray received the Disney Legends Award for living up to the Disney principals of imagination, skill, discipline, craftsmanship and magic. MacMurray was never nominated for an Academy Award.

and Jane Wyman Say Bon Voyage!

By Rick29 on Nov 22, 2018 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

playing another Dad.
made seven films for Walt Disney Productions, starting with The Shaggy Dog (1959) and ending with Charley and the Angel (1973). There were big hits (The Absent-Minded Professor) and big flops (The Happiest Millionaire). One of Fred’s least su... Read full article

and a Double Dose of Flubber

By Rick29 on Sep 6, 2018 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

MacMurray in the lab.
Following the success of 1959's The Shaggy Dog, Walt Disney re-teamed and Tommy Kirk for The Absent-Minded Professor (1961). This time around, Fred got most of the screen time with Tommy in a supporting role as the villain's son.
Fred plays Ned Brainard, a bril... Read full article

THE BLOGATHON: There's Always Tomorrow (1956)

on Aug 30, 2018 From Caftan Woman

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies is hosting the Blogathon running from August 30 to September 1.
HERE is where you will find the tributes to this outstanding actor.
is a favourite actor of mine. Comedy or drama, he rarely puts a foot wrong. I attribute this to his ... Read full article

THE BLOGATHON: There's Always Tomorrow (1956)

on Aug 30, 2018 From Caftan Woman

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies is hosting the Blogathon running from August 30 to September 1.
HERE is where you will find the tributes to this outstanding actor.
is a favourite actor of mine. Comedy or drama, he rarely puts a foot wrong. I attribute this to his ... Read full article

March Madness #18

By Kat_Selby on Mar 18, 2018 From All Good Things

Welcome to Day 18 of MARCH MADNESS!
Every day in March, ALL GOOD THINGS will highlight a Classic film Super-star, you know, the type renowned for really, really B.A.D. to sweetest-dearest-most darling!
DAY #18 Results: GENE TIERNEY - no contest for Day 17, the crowds loves LUCY MUIR over that mean, ... Read full article